Apparatus for lasting and treeing wool felt



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1! v A. A] HAWLEY. APPARATUS FOR LASTINGWAND TREEING WOOL FELT. I No. 258,916. Patented June 6, 1882.

N. PETERS. Phmoiilimgmphen Washington. D. c.

2 Sheets- Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

Patented June 6, 1882..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED A. HAWLEY,OE MERRIMAO, ASSIGNOR TO THE MERINO SHOE COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR LASTING AND- TREEING WOOL FELT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 258,916, dated June 6, 1882,

Application filed February 13, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALFRED A.' HAWLEY, of Merrimac, in the county of Essex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Lasting and Treeing Wool Felt, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to the form and construction of the machinery and apparatus, the object of it being to provide mechanism by which the work of lasting and treeing wool boots may be performed in a more workmanlike and satisfactory manner than it has been done heretofore, and with much greater rapidity and much less damage to the lasts and trees used, and consequently much cheaper.

The invention consists in the form of construction and arrangement of the machinery and apparatus described below and illustrated in the drawings annexed.

The term last refers to a block orblocks of wood of the size and form which it is desired to have the foot of the boot take when finished,

and the term tree refers to a block or blocks of wood of the size and form which the leg of the boot is to have when finished, the last and the tree together in the boot filling its entire cavity, and so constructed that the last can be forced into the foot of the boot by the tree being driven down into the leg of the boot by blows or by gradual forcing.

By the means here described the last and tree are forced by pressure gradually into the boot, instead of being driven by repeated violent blows, as heretofore.

The boot to which this invention particularly applies is made by felting wool into the form of or approximating to the form of a boot, and then fulling the felt to the proper consistency or solidity of fabric. The fulling process leaves the.boot in very irregular and undesirable shape. In fact, it cannot then be used as a boot until it has gone through the.

process here termed lasting and felting, which consists in first softening and preparing the felted fabric to yield and take shape by steaming it, and when it is so prepared by forcing into it a block of wood of one or more pieces, which will give the proper dimensions and form to the fo0t,and then by forcing into it another block or blocks, which will give the proper dimensions and form to the leg. The felt is'then thoroughly dried with the last and tree in it, and the boot will permanently retain the dimensions and form so given it. Previous to my invention this has been done by saturating the'boot with steam in a bath, and then driving into it the last and tree by severe blows repeated until the last and tree are far enough into the boot, the leg of the boot being grasped by the hands of the operatorfirmly when the blow'is struck to carry it upon the tree, and then a wedgeis driven between the two parts of the tree to separate them and stretch the leg of the boot to the proper size and form. This method is slow and laborious, and the lasts and trees are shivered and split by the force ofthe blows, so much that the cost of repairing and renewing them is very great. Y I

By mymachinery and apparatus the labor is much less, and the damage to the lasts and trees is wholly obviated.

In the drawings annexed, Figure 1 shows a device for steaming the felt preparatory to lasting and treeing it, which is a hollow metallic cone-shaped steam conductor and distributor perforated with fine holes very near together. This stands in a perpendicular positionover and joined to an open steam-pipe of sufficient size. In the cone-shaped distributer, over the opening of the steam-pipe, a little way above it, I place a concavo-convex disk, the convex side upward, with space enough between its outer circumference and the inner side of the wall of the cone to allow the steam to pass upward byit on all sides into the perforated cone, through which the steam passes into the felted fabric of the boot, which is drawn over it. On this cone-shaped steam-distributer the felt for the boot remains until it 'is completely saturated by the steam, and by it so softened that it is ready for the next succeeding step.

Fig. 2 shows a device upon which the boot is placed when saturated and softened by steam, a perspective side view consisting of two beams of wood (marked 0) secured in an upright position and of convenientheight, the upper ends ofwhich are of a conformation similar to the tree referred to. These two upright beams are united near the middle by a ley together, so that the inner part and the jointed coupling, (marked 0 which is connected with afoot-lever below (also marked 0 by a connecting-rod, so that the raising and lowering of the foot-lever will bring the two beams together and force them apart, as may be required. 0n the top of the right-hand beam there arcaflixed by hingejointstwopicccs of wood or metal of about the length and size of the foot of a boot, arranged with a jointed coupling, like the one between the beams c, which isalso connected with a foot-lever below (marked 0 by a rod, so that by raising and lowering the foot-lever the two pieces marked 0 are brought together and spread apart, as required. These two pieces may be turned down to the right by the hand, so as to stand at about a right angle to thc.two beams c.

Fig. 3 shows a front elevation of the same device showninFig. 2. When the felt is sufficiently steamed it is placed on this device to open it and prepareitfor thelast and tree, and by pressing the lever 0" downward the parts a are opened and the foot ofthc boot soexpanded that a last may be putinto it, and the parts 0 are turned down to carry the foot of the boot ofi at about a right angle to the leg. The lever 0 is then pressed downward, forcing the beams e apart and opening the leg of the boot so that the tree will enter it.

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the machine by which the lasting and treeing of the boot is completed; and Fig. 5 shows a side elcvationof the same, showing a frame and table on which the machineis supported and the work done.

In these figures, a shows a wool boot on a last and tree. a is the tree. a is a set of double tongs, each pair of the double tongs having a pair of half-clliptic-shapcdjaws, conforming in general outline to the front and back sides of the tree, one of each pair ofjaws having t. flange on the side toward its mate. These ton g-jaws are to take hold of the felted fabric of the boot at the top of the leg, one pairon the frontof the boot and one pair on the back side. The inner arms or lovers of these double tongs unite in a sliding block, which moves on a shaft, which in turnis supported by two fixed blocks on the tableofthe machine, and .which are marked respectively 0 and c.

The two outer arms or levers of the double tongs are connected by rods with two ropes or cords marked 0 which are affixed to and, when the machine is inoperation, wound upon a cylinder which is a part of the actuating mechanism marked a which consists of a large gear on the end of this cylinder and a small gear working into the large one, which is on a shaft moved by a driving-pulley in two parts,

- which are separated automatically when the machine is not in operation, the outer one'having constant motion from a pulley on a counter-shaft, which may be imparted to the inner one by the operator pressing the lever (i down, and thereby carrying the two parts of the pulshaft it is on, and the small gear will move with it and impart motion to the large gear and the cylinder and wind up the ropes c on it. Drawing on the ropes 07 brings the outer arms of the double tongs inward and gives a corresponding motion to the two inner arms by sliding the block which unites them upon the rod between the blocks 0 and 0, causes the two pairs of jaws to grip the fabric of the top of the boot-leg (both front and back side) firmly, and at the same time (the outer end of the tree resting against the fixed block 0 draw the wool boot upon the tree and force the last into the foot, so that it will reach and expand and [ill the toe. At this stage of the operation the operator releases the lever a from pressure, and it is raised by the weight, cord, and pulley arranged for that purpose, and the two parts of the driving-pulley are separated and the draw upon the double tongs ceases, and the weight a, acting by its cord over a pulley, reverses the motion of the cylinder upon which the ropes 0 were wound up and unwinds them, and allows the double tongs to open and release the grip of thejaws upon the fabric of the top of the boot-leg. The flanges marked 0 on the upper ends of the perpendicular levers marked 0 being engaged in openings in the outer end of the two parts of the boot-tree, the operator presses down the lever a, which is connected bya rod with ajointed coupling marked 0 between and uniting theperpendicular levers c, forces them apart, and at the same time separates the two parts of the tree at the outer end, as shown in Fig. 7, so that the block marked a may be placed between them and hold them in that position. The boot, with the last and tree in it, is then carried to the dry-room, where it remains until completely dry. The perpendicular levers resume their position ready for the next operation, when the operator releases the lover a by the force of the weight of, with its cord running over a pulley and connecting with the lever a.

Fig. 6 shows the double tongs and jaws, the rods and ropes c and cylinder, (a part of a,) and the perpendicularlevers c in perspective, without the table and supporting-frame.

The double tongs may be fixed perpendicularly, and the other devices and parts to correspond with that position of the tongs; but I think the horizontal position the most convenient.

Fig. 7 shows the top of a boot-leg with a tree in it, with the two parts separated, ready for the placing of the block a between them.

I claim as new and of my invention- 1. The device for steaming the felt of a wool boot, consisting of a perforated cone-shaped steam-distributer and a concavo-convex disk in the lower part of it, in combination with any suitable conductor of steam.

2. The device for opening a wool boot, so that it will admit a last and tree, consisting of the upright beams e, the foot-opener e, the at. In a machine and apparatus for lasting 10 levers e and 0 and the rods and jointed coupand treeing wool boots, in combination with ling e and 6 a tree in the boot and the devices a", c, c, and

3. The above-described machine for lasting 0 for opening the tree, the block a substanand treeing wool boots, consisting of a snp= tially as described.

porting-frame and table the double tongs a ALFRED A. HAWLEY. the actuating. devices a, the fixed blocks Witnesses: 1

and c and the tree-opening devices a c c a to", OHS. HOUGHTON,

all made substantially as described. J. F. PIGKERING. 

